One Single Dance
by randomdork11
Summary: For one brief moment Rumple lets his guard down around the strange maid who's recently entered his life. Takes place during the events of the fairy-tale land plot of Skin Deep. I own nothing! Just a fan.


Rumpelstiltskin had that nervous feeling that he always got when she was close to him. Something between excitement and terror, he could never quite tell which it was. She moved over to him and grabbed his hands, placing one on her back taking the other in her own. Belle fixed those beautiful blue eyes on him and placed hand on his shoulder before asking, "So you do know how to dance, right?"

Unable to think past the fact that she was touching him, he just nodded.

"Well, we'll just have to test that, then won't we?"

His bold maid began moving to the quick beat of the music and he reluctantly followed her lead. The imp never thought his decision to gift her with the old gramophone he'd picked up from the Land Without Color would backfire so quickly. It had been ages since he had done anything like this and the old spinner was quite rusty. He managed to step on her feet a couple of times before she commented on his apparent lack of grace. "I thought you knew how to dance."

"Just a bit rusty is all," he said, his words finally returning to him, his voice ridiculously uncertain in the face of her admittedly adorable smirk.

After a few moments, Rumpelstiltskin was able to relax, and the old knowledge came naturally again. The last time he'd actually danced with someone just for the sake of dancing he'd been a very different man. That had been back before the first Ogre's War, before he'd been ousted as a coward, before he'd earned Milah's scorn and hatred. It felt nice to allow himself to fall back into the old rhythms if only for a short while.

An awkward moment passed as the first song stopped and the next began. He could tell that even Belle was unsure now. She had been bold and audacious at first, but now she was wary. The beauty considered him a time bomb, knowing that the slightest thing could set the imp off – but to her surprise Rumpelstiltskin took the lead this time continuing to hold his little maid in his arms, content to keep dancing for a few songs more. They picked up the tempo as the next song played faster than the first. She laughed as he twirled her around and he even let an honest smile play across his lips.

Then the music slowed and once again they both hesitated. Yet the young beauty looked into his eyes of the old monster and didn't let go. By some unspoken agreement they resumed moving across the floor dancing to the slow beat.

She laid her head on his chest as they swayed. At first, the imp was yet again taken aback at this new contact, but he relaxed further into her. Their bodies fit together perfectly as they leaned into one another sharing a proximity he hadn't experienced for so very long. Belle's head barely came up to his chin and he marveled that someone so small could be making such a huge impact on him.

For a moment, one brief moment, Rumpelstiltskin allowed himself to forget. He rested his head on hers and they moved even closer together. He lost himself in Belle and in the moment, forgetting everything about his past, about who he was, about those who had wronged him and those he had wronged. He forgot the heartache and suffering that love created. The imp even, briefly, forgot about all the voices that haunted him, the ones that nagged about how he could never find happiness with her. The voices that insisted the maid was deceiving him. Belle wanted her freedom and the best way to obtain that goal was to dupe the monster through kindness. The voices that reminded him about others who had attempted similar feats.

Instead Rumpelstiltskin shoved those voices aside simply letting himself be swept up in the feeling of her hand in his and the sensation of her body against his. In that moment, nothing else mattered accept the woman he held in his arms and the dance they were sharing. They floated from one end of the massive ball room to the other. Each lost to the music and thankful for the company of the other. For one glorious moment, he wasn't the Dark One or the imp, he was simply a man enjoying the company of one exceptionally lovely woman.

Then the music stopped. They held on to each other for a few seconds more neither wanting to break the spell the song had cast. Belle pulled back from him just enough to look up into his eyes. Caught in the moment and unable to stop himself, Rumpelstiltskin rested his forehead on hers. Her breath was warm and tantalizing as it moved across his face. He marveled once again at her beauty and he could not imagine why someone as beautiful as she, would be so close to someone like him.

Then all the memories he had pushed down came flooding back. He remembered what it meant to love someone. Remembered heartache and pain. Remembered who he was and all that that meant. No one could actually love him. Not really. Not with all his darkness. No one could love the Dark One. More than that, no one could love the weak and cowardly man that hid behind that darkness. It felt like a physical blow. Like someone had hit him square in the chest and he knew it was no one's fault but his own. He'd allowed himself to forget, and after all this time he had a lot to forget. But in the reality of the silence, he knew the truth. He was monster and she was a rare spot of pure beauty in the world.

Rumpelstiltskin pulled away from her and took several steps back. He held her gaze for a few more moments then looked down at the floor. He spun on his heel and quickly walked away leaving her alone in the great room where the echo of their shared moment still lingered.

*************************

Belle stood there alone, confused, and worried. Had that really just happened. They had been laughing together and genuinely enjoying one another's company. Something that she never thought would be possible. Had she gotten too close there at the end. She had definitely felt a connection with this man and for a moment she thought he might have felt it too.

But why had she felt it? Did she have feelings for this strange being? Could she have feelings for him? She knew that she had never felt this way before, whether she chose to admit that to herself or not. Belle was honest enough with herself to acknowledge that she enjoyed Rumpelstiltskin's company far more than she believed she ever could. She knew there was so much more to the devilish imp than what everyone else believed or saw. There was something behind the mask he wore for the rest of the world. The beauty had just seen proof of that. He had looked so vulnerable in those last few seconds. But then something in him changed. She had seen his expression close and all of the walls came back up there in the end. But didn't that mean that she had broken them down? Even if just for moment.

That led to even more questions. Now what should she do? Should she go about her day as normal? Should she go after him? Whatever Belle decided she felt that the latter was not the right choice. But what did this mean for them now? All the questions running through her head were beginning to manifest as a serious headache. Why wasn't life as simple as it was in the pages of her books. Why couldn't she just fight a dragon or go on a quest and find her prince. And by that token shouldn't she find an actual prince and not someone who held her captive against her will. But was it against her will anymore? Rumpelstiltskin was so obviously lonely, he never said anything about it, but she could tell. He needed her even if he couldn't admit that to himself. The characters in her books always knew just what to do, so why didn't she? Why did life have to be so much more complicated?


End file.
